Foote: Lynch sends wrong message

[jimnyc]

Larry Foote was a former Steelers player, which drew me into this article. But outside of simply doing it because it's league mandated, and they signed contracts - Foote gives another great explanation that is 100% spot on:

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Arizona Cardinals linebacker Larry Foote strongly criticized Seattle Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch on Monday, saying Lynch is sending the wrong message to children.

"He always mentions his foundation and what he likes to do for the city of Oakland," Foote said in an interview with 93.7 The Fan in Pittsburgh. "I'm from the same type of urban environment that he's from.

"The biggest message he's giving these kids, he might not want to admit it, is 'The hell with authority. I don't care, fine me. I'm gonna grab my crotch. I'm gonna do it my way.'"

Foote's point is kids will believe they can act the same as Lynch does.

"In the real world, it doesn't work that way," Foote said. "It just doesn't. How can you keep a job? I mean, you got these inner-city kids. They don't listen to teachers. They don't listen to police officers, principals. And these guys can't even keep a job because they say 'F' authority."

Foote, a former Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker who signed with Arizona before the 2014 season, said former Steelers running back Jerome Bettis, who was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame on Saturday, is an example of a player who sent the right message to kids.

Bettis, an ESPN analyst, is a former recipient of the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award and this year's Walter Camp Football Foundation Man of the Year winner. His The Bus Stops Here Foundation has been helping troubled and underprivileged kids in the Detroit and Pittsburgh areas since 1997.

http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/12272608/arizona-cardinals-linebacker-larry-foote-says-marshawn-lynch-seattle-seahawks-sending-wrong-message-kids

[Jeff]

Larry Foote was a former Steelers player, which drew me into this article. But outside of simply doing it because it's league mandated, and they signed contracts - Foote gives another great explanation that is 100% spot on:

---

Arizona Cardinals linebacker Larry Foote strongly criticized Seattle Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch on Monday, saying Lynch is sending the wrong message to children.

"He always mentions his foundation and what he likes to do for the city of Oakland," Foote said in an interview with 93.7 The Fan in Pittsburgh. "I'm from the same type of urban environment that he's from.

"The biggest message he's giving these kids, he might not want to admit it, is 'The hell with authority. I don't care, fine me. I'm gonna grab my crotch. I'm gonna do it my way.'"

Foote's point is kids will believe they can act the same as Lynch does.

"In the real world, it doesn't work that way," Foote said. "It just doesn't. How can you keep a job? I mean, you got these inner-city kids. They don't listen to teachers. They don't listen to police officers, principals. And these guys can't even keep a job because they say 'F' authority."

Foote, a former Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker who signed with Arizona before the 2014 season, said former Steelers running back Jerome Bettis, who was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame on Saturday, is an example of a player who sent the right message to kids.

Bettis, an ESPN analyst, is a former recipient of the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award and this year's Walter Camp Football Foundation Man of the Year winner. His The Bus Stops Here Foundation has been helping troubled and underprivileged kids in the Detroit and Pittsburgh areas since 1997.

http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/12272608/arizona-cardinals-linebacker-larry-foote-says-marshawn-lynch-seattle-seahawks-sending-wrong-message-kids

The reason the inner city kids act the way they do is because of the hero's they worship. We spoke about this last night at my kids baseball practice, the kids that had the right hero's the right up bringing made the school team, they are polite and hard workers, most of them are at least on the honor roll, but there is a couple of kids that since a young age believed some of their basketball hero's where what they wanted to be and their parents not only allowed it but pushed it. The two kids I am speaking of are both white and live in the country. so no it isn't a inner city thing, their parents are idiots, when the kids first started playing sports ( 4 or 5 years old ) the parents where worshiping the idiots you read about in the news, when ever they got together it wasn't family time but rather a basketball game. ( any sport could fit here ) I remember Charles Barkley saying he isn't no dam role model he was a millionaire and that holds some truth, as parents we need to be our kids hero's, they will follow us and those that we admire. Kudos to Foote, Bettis and all the other sports figures that truly realize how important it is to the kids for them to act right.

[jimnyc]

The reason the inner city kids act the way they do is because of the hero's they worship. We spoke about this last night at my kids baseball practice, the kids that had the right hero's the right up bringing made the school team, they are polite and hard workers, most of them are at least on the honor roll, but there is a couple of kids that since a young age believed some of their basketball hero's where what they wanted to be and their parents not only allowed it but pushed it. The two kids I am speaking of are both white and live in the country. so no it isn't a inner city thing, their parents are idiots, when the kids first started playing sports ( 4 or 5 years old ) the parents where worshiping the idiots you read about in the news, when ever they got together it wasn't family time but rather a basketball game. ( any sport could fit here ) I remember Charles Barkley saying he isn't no dam role model he was a millionaire and that holds some truth, as parents we need to be our kids hero's, they will follow us and those that we admire. Kudos to Foote, Bettis and all the other sports figures that truly realize how important it is to the kids for them to act right.

Yeah, I don't care about the color either. If a kid has a hero, they will often try to emulate them, whether on the field or off. When we were kids we used to make believe we were a certain player when getting up to bat, or being QB, or being WR. The kids today may start scoring TD's and grabbing their crotches. Or when asked questions, they may be assholes and give stupid replies instead of being respectful.